Searching for the Key

Chapter 19

By the time it was midafternoon Katia, Nathan, Celia, and Damien reached the tallest tree. They looked up and they couldn't see through the thick branches that didn't even start until twenty feet up. There was no way they were climbing up the tree.

The four of them roamed around the trunk while looking up for a way to climb up.

"I can fly up there but it'll be hard to take everyone around all of those branches safely," Nathan told them.

"How about just one of us go with you while the rest stay down here?" Katia suggested.

"Okay that sounds good. So who's going to come up with me?" Nathan asked.

No one answered at first and just stared at Nathan. He looked at their blank faces while swinging his arms back and forth.

"I know you are all eager to come up there with me, but I can only take one. I'm sorry," Nathan said sarcastically.

The three of them just laughed at Nathan's put out face. Damien patted Nathan on the back before sitting on the ground firmly with a sly smile.

"I want to come," Katia said. "But healing you guys drained my energy. I think it's best if I just rest down here."

She took a seat next to Damien and leaned back against the hard bark of the tree.

"Really? Are you okay?" Nathan asked, kneeling beside Katia.

"Yeah I just need to rest for a while," she assured him.

Usually Katia could heal people without much of a problem, but lately she had been more tired than usual. It must be the lack of sleep and the strain of really pushing her powers over the last few days. She still wasn't as used to using her powers as Damien, Celia, and Nathan who have been using them pretty much their whole life.

"I guess I'll come," Celia spoke up after it became obvious that neither Katia nor Damien were going to help Nathan.

"Okay, we'll be back soon," Nathan said. He gave Katia a nervous smile behind Celia's back and crossed his fingers.

"Be careful," Katia said with a small laugh.

Nathan grabbed Celia's hand. The wind around them got stronger until they were stuck in a whirlwind. The air lurched up and he took her up into the air and around the long branches. Damien and Katia watched their flying figures until they were obscured completely by the branches.

Damien noticed the exchange between Nathan and Katia and looked at her suggestively with a smirk on his face. She just shook her head and laughed, but she tried to hide the rising blush behind her hair. She always hated how her tendency to blush revealed the emotions she was trying so hard to hide.

After that no one said anything. Katia was just watching the forest teeming with life as the breeze blew her hair around. It was the most relaxed she'd felt since the quest started. Damien and Katia sat next to each other in silence until Katia spoke up.

"Damien can I ask you a question?" Katia asked unsurely.

"Sure, what?" He asked cautiously, not sure if he wanted to hear what Katia was going to ask.

"How come you seem like you don't want to use your powers?" She said.

Katia noticed his reluctance ever since they had to present their powers to the portal. Even when they were fighting for their lives against the Hunters, Damien avoided using the fire within him. It was always his last resort.

Damien was just silent and stared into the forest straight ahead with a closed off expression.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked," Katia apologized quickly. She looked back at the forest guiltily.